“The pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to” – Alain de Botton
Our last day in Old Québec was cold and windy, not a good day to be outside, but it gave me a chance to do a little shopping. Since it was a dreary day and not a good day for taking pictures I thought I’d share more pictures from our first two days in Old Québec. I think we walked up and down every little cobblestone street (Rue) in town…at least once. I’m in love with this city.
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Sept. 18 – Old Québec, QC
Sept. 17 – Old Québec, QC
It’s a pretty good life I’m living, you won’t hear me complain. I’m just hoping tomorrow I get to do it all over again. -Howard Livingston
Old Québec…what an amazing place to visit. I think we’d like to return and spend a month just hanging out at the little sidewalk cafés and wandering around at a slower pace. The city made all our senses think we’re in France, with the sight of winding cobblestone streets and century old buildings, the sound of French pleasantries, the taste of buttery croissants and the enticing smell of fresh-baked bread and amazing chocolate. It’s a little piece of Europe right here in North America.
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Sept. 16 – Old Québec, QC
“Love is the food of life, travel is dessert.” – Anonymous
Just a short blog today to let everyone know we left Montreal this morning and headed east. We arrived in Québec City around lunch and the weather is amazing…we’ve finally found some nice temps. It’s been crazy hot up here and in upstate NY lately. We had a wonderful day wandering around Old Québec. I will give more details (and pictures) when I have time. For now here’s a look at the place we’re staying and Stan’s birthday dinner.
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Sept. 15 – Montréal, QC
SpringHill Suites Marriott
“If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears.” – Cesare Pavese
The first stop on our Québec Adventure was Montréal. We spent a few days here in 2012 and thought it would make a nice stop on our way to Québec City. Montréal has many wonderful neighborhoods to explore, but we spent our time in Old Montréal. Old Montréal sits on the edge of the St Lawrence River, it’s the city’s oldest district founded as a fur trading post in 1605 by Samuel de Champlain. It’s composed of picturesque squares and grand old-world architecture. Today the cobblestone streets are full of museums, shops, art galleries, parks, bars and sidewalk cafes. The perfect place to spend an afternoon exploring. We got to town in time for a late lunch at sidewalk cafe at Place Jacques-Cartier. We enjoyed music by street performers while we ate lunch.
Québec Adventure
“Fascism is cured by reading and racism is cured by traveling” -Miguel de Unamuno
We’re off on a new adventure…this time by car. We’re heading to Québec City. It’s been on our list of places to visit for a long time. It felt a little daunting to go by boat, so we decided to drive over this week to celebrate the captain’s birthday.
Thousand Islands Lighthouses
I’ve enjoyed taking pictures of lighthouses since we left Texas in 2011. I have a lighthouse map and an online photo album with 267 lighthouses that I like adding new lighthouses to. The past year or so I haven’t seen too many new lighthouses, but our trip to the 1000 Islands gave me a chance to collect a few more.
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Thousand Islands Boathouses
Heaven is a little closer in a home by the water.
The Webster Dictionary’s definition for boathouse is simple: a shed at the edge of a river or lake used for housing boats. In the Thousand Islands they take their boat houses a little more serious than that and some are over a century old built as lavish retreats on their own, with bedrooms, dining rooms, fireplaces and even ballrooms. Grand boathouses dotted the St. Lawrence River during its Golden Age when wealthy business barons owned fleets of vessels. Other boathouses are practical ports of call. Like every island, every boathouse has a story to tell.
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Aug. 25 – Thoroughbred Horse Racing
Baldwinsville Free Dock
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” ―Mother Teresa
Early Saturday morning our friends from Oneonta called…they raise horses at their Waterhill Farm. One of their babies was running in a race at the Finger Lakes Racetrack and they wanted to know if we’d like to join them. Of course we wanted to! They picked us up in Baldwinsville and off we went for a day of fun at the racetrack. Finger Lakes Racetrack isn’t as fancy as Saratoga Race Track, that we visited last summer, but it sure was fun watching a horse run that our friends had raised.
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” ―Mother Teresa
Early Saturday morning our friends from Oneonta called…they raise horses at their Waterhill Farm. One of their babies was running in a race at the Finger Lakes Racetrack and they wanted to know if we’d like to join them. Of course we wanted to! They picked us up in Baldwinsville and off we went for a day of fun at the racetrack. Finger Lakes Racetrack isn’t as fancy as Saratoga Race Track, that we visited last summer, but it sure was fun watching a horse run that our friends had raised.
Aug. 23-24 – Baldwinsville, NY
Baldwinsville Free Dock
“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
We woke up Thursday (8/23) and checked the weather reports for Lake Ontario…windy, but it looked doable and better than any day in the near future. We decided we’d take our chances…we really didn’t want to wait in Cape Vincent for a week. Most of the way across the lake to Oswego was bouncy but not too uncomfortable. That all changed about four miles out…the wind and the waves picked up and it was one of the roughest rides we’ve ever had. We didn’t bury the bow, but we came very close. We could see the inlet, but the only bearable way we could make any head way was to tack back and worth…it was a long, very comfortable ride and it felt amazing once we passed the lighthouse coming into the harbor. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the wall at Lock 7 and picking up the mess in the cabin.
Aug. 22 – Cape Vincent, NY
Cape Vincent Bulkhead
“There’s no time to be bored in a world as beautiful as this.” – Anonymous
After our long day yesterday, working on the boat, we were hoping for a good nights sleep and a little downtime today. The docks and marinas in Clayton are exposed to the wakes from the river and winds from the north and west…so the approaching cold front woke us up very early. The wind was so strong that the rocking motion almost threw us out of bed. We were up, dressed and on our way to the coffee shop just as the sun was clearing the horizon. Everyone was out checking lines and adding more fenders. We were glad we had were using our large orange balls when we docked.
